July 01, 2010 at 05:47 PM · Posted under Karen Trepton
When Flight for Life is called to the scene of an accident, time is of the essence. One of the most critical things they need to have on board is type O negative blood. O negative blood is the universal blood type, which means it can be transfused to anyone, regardless of their blood type.The Flight for Life medical crew takes two to four units of O negative blood on each flight, and on-board transfusions have been instrumental in helping stabilize patients and save lives during transport.
O Neg blood is also in every hospital emergency room. It could be the difference between life and death in a serious emergency.
During the summer, especially around the 4th of July holiday, the need for O Neg donors is greater than ever. As a matter of fact, BloodCenter of Wisconsin has a limited supply of O negative blood, and they need our help.
While only 8% of people are type O negative, 100% of the population could be saved by it in an emergency situation. That’s why if you are type O negative, I urge you to donate blood at our drive on:
Date Friday 07/09/1010
Time noon- 5 pm
Location Shorewest Lake Country
Recruit someone you know who has never donated blood. Maybe he or she will be in that 8 percent of people who have O negative blood.
Just one unit of blood could save up to three lives.
If you have a family member with O negative blood, please invite them to our drive and schedule a donation time by calling the office at Shorewest 262-567-8351
June 25, 2010 at 12:00 AM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
I love a good Reuben and I think I have had some of the best around the country. Nosh-A-Rye on Longboat Key is as authentic as you get. Well a new restaurant opened here in Oconomowoc just the other day. For those of you locals this is the old Chuck’s Supper Club. The new establishment is Burke’s Lakeside and it is located on Valley Road about a mile and a half west of Hwy 67—right across the street from Silver Lake.
I met a friend there for lunch today and quickly scanned the menu for a Reuben and to my relief they offered one with a huge plate of fresh fries. My midline could do without the fries, but I have to try them for the sake of the blog! This scrumptious sandwich offered thick strips of corned beef a light sauce and not too much sauerkraut on a beautifully toasted marble rye all for an affordable $8.95. We sat on the deck since it was less humid today, but the inside of this new eatery is very trendy with linen table cloths, nice flatware and a comfortable environment. I definitely want to try their dinner menu in the near future. I think I found my new favorite place for the trusty Reuben.
June 17, 2010 at 12:00 AM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
It is always great to see builders busy these days with the ‘new’ real estate market. In the Brightwater subdivision, just across the street from the new Aurora Hospital, Kingsway Homes is busy building a new home. I have the house on Waterstone Circle listed for sale at $475,000 and this gorgeous subdivision has all the accoutrements of fine living. Let’s start with the clubhouse. A well appointed clubhouse with outdoor pool, bathrooms and a large gathering area is available for use by residents.
What I like most about this fabulous neighborhood structure is one, the design is beautiful and two the quality inside is high end. The quaint older manor home, which I have listed for sale, is a terrific deal in the upscale development and has a detached carriage house complete with studio apartment, fireplace and full kitchen. The main house offers a Viking kitchen, granite counter tops, slate floors, Jack ‘n Jill bedrooms upstairs and 3 natural fireplaces in the main house. This unique property has the largest lot in the development at 2.5 acres. We are looking for someone who recognizes value when they see it and wants amenities such as the clubhouse and lake access.
Have you ever done this? You find a great eating establishment and you order the same thing each time not wanting to switch to something different? I do it all the time, but last night rather than having the world famous Reuben at The Rochester Deli, I tried their Italian Panini and the Devonshire Panini. No I didn’t have two entrees, my wife, Lori ordered one and I the other then we swapped halves. WOW were they good. The Deli is such a great place to hang out. I prefer to eat outside at one of the patio tables, taking in the quiet pace of downtown Waukesha. Once those delish dishes were history I had my eye on the almond cookies that were hunkered down in the pastry case. I love almond and especially marzipan. If you don’t know what marzipan is go ask your grandmother. A hot cup of tea and a delectable fresh homemade almond cookie—ok it was really good. We chatted with friends until the place closed which was a little early for me 7pm, but hey it’s a deli and they were open all day. So now I can tastefully recommend the Reuben, Devonshire and the Italian Panini at The Rochester Deli.
June 03, 2010 at 07:16 AM · Posted under Karen Trepton
If you read my posts, you may recognize that I enjoy giving you, the reader, bits and pieces of what it’s like to live in Southeastern Wisconsin. I do some hard reporting on the state of the real estate market, but mostly, I enjoy painting the picture of what it’s like to live in Lake Country, Wisconsin.
However, I am asked frequently about the state of the real estate market, and decided that it is equally important to share with you, the big picture regarding housing in Wisconsin and the nation. My favorite source of information regarding real estate and where it’s heading, is from Steve Harney. I am a pin wearing, card carrying, blog reading, twitter and facebook posting member of “Harney’s Army!” He’s spot on in terms of sharing the truth about the market.
Steve was in Brookfield, today, and I was impressed with this particular comment, “The professional doesn’t see the glass as half empty, or as half full…but recognizes that there’s water in the glass.” I love that!! Buyers and sellers will continue to move, regardless of interest rates, home prices, inventory volumes, etc. My job, as a professional, is to equip my clients with the information they need to maneuver through the ever changing market with the greatest success.
So, in an effort to share my knowledge of the market, I am going to share Steve’s advice and insight on the market with you. Watch for daily links to Steve’s blog, “Keeping Current Matters.” The information is invaluable! My cultural posts will continue, as well, but these links are required reading for the buyer or seller who wants to be “in the know.” Today’s article touches on the subject of the Housing Recovery, and how “shadow inventory” will affect it. Feel free to contact me with questions.
May 17, 2010 at 11:10 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
The beautiful quiet roads of Lake Country beckon most to the quiet lifestyle and the easy pace of living in the midst of the 27 crystal clear lakes that dot our landscape. On most any day you will find the back roads teeming with bike riders–not the motorized kind, but the pedal type of enthusiast who loves the great outdoors and a good workout. A challenging ride for serious riders can be joined each Wednesday night at the Bike Doctor in Dousman, locally referred to as “Drop the Doc” The idea is to stay with the peloton as long as you can before you get dropped. The route is usually about 26 miles and winds through places like Sullivan and Rome. I usually get dropped by the “Doc” but it is a very fun experience. I decided to work on a ride for our office called TEAM SHOREWEST. We had Jersey’s designed and have lots of fun as an office. Our route is a little easier 17.5 miles and we also leave every Wednesday night at 6pm unless it is raining. The ride is open to all who want some good exercise and a quick ride. If you are an experienced rider this could be your coasting night. Regardless of skill level we would love to have you join us. We do not ride in the rain so you can plan accordingly. If you like these cool jersey’s let me know and we can order one for you on your next order.
In this picture some of the riders from TEAM SHOREWEST braved the 35mph winds on one ride. It was fun and breezy.
April 26, 2010 at 03:52 PM · Posted under Glenn Hanon
On Tuesday April 20 th I sat down with then Mayor, Maury Sullivan and asked him to reflect on his past six years as the Mayor of Oconomowoc. The Mayor reflected on a number of his accomplishments, most notably he feels he is leaving the office with a city that is in good shape from a fiscal perspective and from a staffing function. According to the Mayor, when he first took office the city was spending $100,000-$135,000 on street repairs. This past year the city allocated over $3M for street repairs.
When asked what stands out most to the Mayor as an accomplishment he listed the road upgrades while conceding that there is much work to be done there. The new growth in development within the city which he quotes from State reports that the city has benefited from $559 million in new construction within the city over the past six years. Other projects have been stalled due to financing, most notably the Rockwell project in the downtown area and the Pabst Farms development. City finances are the Mayor’s third area of accomplishment. “During this last six years there has been a relatively low increase in levy, this last year there was no increase. The levy for the city is the fifth lowest of 190 cities in Wisconsin.” said Mayor Sullivan.
Prior to his election as the Mayor of Oconomowoc, Sullivan was the Town Chairman for the Town of Summit, soon to be the Village of Summit. During those litigious years the City and Town were at odds over a border agreement. This past December roughly 4500 acres merged into the city as part of the 10 year border agreement between the two municipalities. Over 32 lawsuits were filed as a result of the announcement of the Target Distribution Center. “I felt that quite frankly this was foolishness and I advocated with the Town Board to negotiate and they had tried litigating, but that had mixed limited success and started negotiating with the boundary agreement in 1999.” We no longer have litigation…I wasn’t thinking of this as an accomplishment while I was Mayor. Clearly Sullivan’s involvement as Town Chairman and his 3 term tenure as Mayor of Oconomowoc has had an impact on the relations between Summit and Oconomowoc.
When I asked the Mayor to look forward as he leaves office, he sees that most of the issues that the city will face are issues related to development, growth in the city and the hot topic of impact fees. When I asked Sullivan about the impact fees, he stated, “I think they will not be changed, because the impact of having residents pay for development impact fees would be so substantial that I don’t think that the taxpayers would agree to that.” The bigger issues facing Oconomowoc are the downtown areas and the Pabst Farms Development. A good deal of concern about the future of the Pabst development is still on many minds in the community while DDR continues to bring forth plans for the new mall, most have realized that the plans once promised to the city with high end retailers such as Nordstroms will not materialize.
The biggest hurdle for the new mayor is a balancing what Pabst would like to develop with the public’s perception of what they were promised. The demographics don’t tend to support the higher end retailers for our area and of course the recession has not helped the plans for the new mall. Optimistic and upbeat about the future of the city the former mayor has no plans to drift into the sunset. Sullivan would not rule out a run for this office or any other office at the moment. For now he plans on enjoying time off with his wife Ann in our great city.
April 08, 2010 at 08:41 PM · Posted under Karen Trepton
As I mentioned in a past post, spring is a great time to tune up the winter body with some bike riding, and southeastern Wisconsin offers some of the nicest rides around!
Starting tonight, Wheel and Sprocket bicycle shop is host to the ”Nation’s Largest Bike Expo Sale” at the Wisconsin State Fair Expo Center. As the host states, “You can find a bike, buy a bike and ride it home!” The event features over 1500 bikes and thousands of accessories, for the amateur and the serious rider. It’s free to the public, and opens at 4pm Thursday, and runs through Sunday.
Stay tuned for more biking information, as our local “Shorewest Family” sets out to ride weekly on the trails of Lake Country. If you see a group of riders decked out in red and black, it just may be your dedicated Shorewest agents, taking a break from selling the wonderful real estate in Lake Country, to enjoy the beauty of it themselves!
Hi! My name is Tim Wright. I moved to Wisconsin in 2008 and now live in Kenosha with my growing family. Prior to moving I was a realtor in northern Michigan for a number of years.
I have Bachelor’s Degrees in Criminal Justice and Elementary Education, but soon found that Real Estate is a great passion of mine; I enjoy the unique details of houses and seeing people turn houses into homes. Since then I have completed courses in Marketing, Real Estate Law, Ethics and Home Marketing Specialties.
Through my family I have become involved with the Continental Band program, Girl Scouts, CYC Sports, and the Wolfenbüttel, Germany High School Exchange program here in Kenosha.
Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource Specialist
I look forward to assisting you will all of your real estate needs!
March 26, 2010 at 08:18 PM · Posted under Kelly Kuchta
So how does the Menomonee Falls WI real estate market look these days?
Menomonee Falls new Listings report is from 3/20/10 through 3/27/10 for Single Family homes for sale. Currently, Menomonee Falls has a average listing price for sale of $327,493. The Waukesha county average currently is $431,322.
The current number of properties on the market in Menomonee Falls WI is 187. The Waukesha county Single Family listings total 2633.
Below you will find some New Listings in Menomonee Falls for the week of 3/20/10-3/27/10.
For More Information about these listings (or any others) or to get a free list of foreclosures, call or email The Kuchta’s Kelly & Colleen.
-Dedicated to honest, efficient, courteous and above all, individualized customer service
-Member Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors®
-Lifelong Southeastern Wisconsin resident
-Awarded Outstanding Volunteer 2009, Girl Scouts USA
-MBA, UW-Milwaukee School of Business
-BA, Ripon College
-Graduate of Oconomowoc High School
-Over 10 years of financial services experience prior to becoming a Full Time Real Estate Sales Associate
Les Kane here blogging for you my Wisconsin community. I live and sell for our founders’ short list of “Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” It’s a short but thorough list. I do believe it’s reachable if we consider it in every action of every day. I defend this right in my client as well. I love to help them make sure their Real estate choices are not limiting them in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I love to search for wise purchases as hard as I will help them find a compelling price for their properties. There is no question too small or large I can’t find an answer to.
With masters degree in counseling and Shorewest training I can fulfill your real estate needs. I have lived in this area, raised and schooled my children in this area, which gives me the client’s perspective. No matter how unique the real estate task, be it commercial or residential, I can help.
Providing Shorewest’s cutting edge marketing and Internet Technology.
Boat equipped for on-the-water property tours of Geneva Lake.
Graduate-Shorewest Real Estate Institute
Member-Lakes Area Realtors® Association
Member-Wisconsin Realtors® Association
Member-National Association of Realtors®
Please stop and see me at the Delavan Sales office- 830 E. Geneva St in Delavan!
February 17, 2010 at 09:28 PM · Posted under Karen Trepton
Selling homes in Wisconsin in the winter, can be challenging. When the snow flies and temperatures drop, buyers can “hibernate”. It’s not unusual to track showings with the weather. A bright sunny day can produce several families at an open house, whereas, a cloudy, cold, snowy day can result in a “no-show” open. Unfortunately, we are in a long, steady home market. The days of putting a property on the market in the spring, and removing it in the fall are over. Now, more than ever, sellers need to take advantage of the tax incentives, low interest rates, and the many other tools that companies such as Shorewest have to offer, to result in a sale and a “date” at the closing table.
As a professional, full service agent, it is my duty to provide my sellers with options to maximize their exposure to buyers. One such option is staging the interior AND exterior of one’s home. This recent online post I found through the Greater Milwaukee Board of Realtors points out several tips of the trade that agents and sellers can use to achieve this goal. A good example of these strategies are highlighted in the video below. I think you may find the video and the article helpful.
If you’d like more information regarding the many tools Shorewest and I can offer, give me a call or stop by the open house on Sunday at the featured listing. In the meantime, enjoy the remaining weeks of winter, and remember that spring will be here, before you know it.
When Flight for Life is called to the scene of an accident, time is of the essence. One of the most critical things they need to have on board is type O negative blood. O negative blood is the universal blood type, which means it can be transfused to anyone, regardless of their blood type.The Flight for Life medical crew takes two to four units of O negative blood on each flight, and on-board transfusions have been instrumental in helping stabilize patients and save lives during transport.
Karen Trepton
Tim Wright
Glenn Hanon
It is always great to see builders busy these days with the ‘new’ real estate market. In the 
Have you ever done this? You find a great eating establishment and you order the same thing each time not wanting to switch to something different? I do it all the time, but last night rather than having the world famous Reuben at 
I decided to work on a ride for our office called TEAM SHOREWEST. We had Jersey’s designed and have lots of fun as an office. Our route is a little easier 17.5 miles and we also leave every Wednesday night at 6pm unless it is raining. The ride is open to all who want some good exercise and a quick ride. If you are an experienced rider this could be your coasting night. Regardless of skill level we would love to have you join us. We do not ride in the rain so you can plan accordingly. If you like these cool jersey’s let me know and we can order one for you on your next order.
On Tuesday April 20 th I sat down with then Mayor, Maury Sullivan and asked him to reflect on his past six years as the Mayor of Oconomowoc. The Mayor reflected on a number of his accomplishments, most notably he feels he is leaving the office with a city that is in good shape from a fiscal perspective and from a staffing function. According to the Mayor, when he first took office the city was spending $100,000-$135,000 on street repairs. This past year the city allocated over $3M for street repairs.
Kelly Kuchta
Shorewest - New Berlin
Les Kane here blogging for you my Wisconsin community. I live and sell for our founders’ short list of “Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” It’s a short but thorough list. I do believe it’s reachable if we consider it in every action of every day. I defend this right in my client as well. I love to help them make sure their Real estate choices are not limiting them in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I love to search for wise purchases as hard as I will help them find a compelling price for their properties. There is no question too small or large I can’t find an answer to.
